MuCEM by rudy riccioti sports a delicate concrete filigree

MuCEM by rudy riccioti sports a delicate concrete filigreeimage © lafarge library / charles plumey fayeall images courtesy of lafarge

the museum of european and mediterranean civilization (MuCEM) just opened its glazed doors in the port-side city of marseille. the museum, first in the world dedicated to mediterranean cultures, is remarkable in its pioneering exterior skin of delicate filigreed concrete- a architectonic feat of prestressed concrete and building system. designed by arguably the ambassador of concrete, french architect rudy ruccioti envisioned the sea-bordered site in dialogue with the light-admitting, wind-cutting concrete lace over the expansive volume of the cultural institution.the seven-level, 40, 000 square meter structure is additionally bound to the idyllic fort saint-jean with a 115m long slender pathway and an 820 meter suspended walkway that cut through the structure and is itself a successful exercise in material experimentation, sporting an elegant and effective slenderness. the material palette includes expansive glazing and a aesthetically precise and structurally pioneering use of ductal, a engineered, fibrous concrete used to render the material a lightweight, formally complex panel. two facades and the roof are clad in 384 the high performing planes that additionally serve to dematerialize light and allow air to pervade the space. circulation marries material as the vivid blues of both sea and sky blend, breathe and move behind the meandering curves of lace that screen that world of culture and artifact with the environment that produces them.

the volume is inlaid with suspended paths of circulation that connect the museum to the historic port

image © lafarge library / charles plumey faye

the striking turquoise and pristine blues of sky and ocean are met with a delicate mass of glazing and impossibly light concreteimage © lafarge library / charles plumey faye

slate colored suspended path toward the roofimage © lafarge library / charles plumey faye

spatially the museum is designed for strolling and observing image © lafarge library / charles plumey faye

the concrete filigree skin creates an immaterial envelope of dappled light and reframes the ocean and air image © lafarge library / charles plumey faye